Summary
We are now closing the blog. Here is a round-up of today’s events.
Europe is braced for US president Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs on global trading partners on Wednesday, threatening cost increases and likely drawing retaliation from all sides. Details of Trump’s tariff plans are due to be announced in the White House Rose Garden at 4 pm Eastern Time (10pm CET, 9pm BST).
Donald Trump’s planned tariffs will be negative across the world, with the damage depending on how far they go, how long they last and whether they lead to successful negotiations, European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.
The effect of US tariffs on Italian companies will be massive – with fashion, pharmaceuticals and the food industry the hardest hit, the head of national industry lobby Confindustria said on Wednesday.
Benedicte de Perthuis, the judge who barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running in France’s 2027 presidential election is under police protection after facing death threats, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
French President Emmanuel Macron said “that the threats made against judges are absolutely unbearable and intolerable” and that “the law is the same for everyone”, Politico reports. Macron also stated that “all defendants have the right to legal recourse.”
European visitors to the UK will need a new online entry permit from Wednesday as the British government shakes up longstanding travel rules. Travellers from Europe will now need a digital Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) permit.
Russian attacks damaged energy facilities in Ukraine’s Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions, President Zelenskyy said adding that Russia was intentionally attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure and called on allies to mount pressure on Moscow to halt its invasion.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that Ukraine had attacked Russian energy facilities twice during the past 24 hours. The Guardian could not verify the reported strikes.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a visit to the US by President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, was “possible”, and that contacts with the US were continuing.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to visit Hungary on Wednesday defying an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen began her three-day visit to Greenland on Wednesday for talks with the territory’s incoming government, following US President Donald Trump’s repeated expressions of interest in controlling the Arctic island, Reuters reports.
President Emmanuel Macron convened key ministers and experts on Wednesday to discuss Iran, including its nuclear programme, amid growing tensions between Tehran and US President Donald Trump, three diplomatic sources told Reuters.
Italy’s interior ministry has written to police forces across the country to increase security at Tesla dealerships after 17 of the electric cars made by Elon Musk’s company were destroyed in a fire in Rome.
Nato allies have pledged $21.65bn (more than 20bn euros) in military support for Ukraine in the first three months of the year, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.
Norway will not withdraw from the global convention banning anti-personnel landmines as all the other European countries bordering Russia have done, the country’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Norway will not withdraw from the global convention banning anti-personnel landmines as all the other European countries bordering Russia have done, the country’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Finland on Tuesday said it planned to quit the 1997 Ottawa Convention as a way to mitigate the military threat posed by Russia, following Poland and the Baltic countries, which announced similar moves last month.
Norway’s foreign minister Espen Barth Eide told Reuters: “This particular decision [by Finland] is something that we regret.
“If we start weakening our commitment, it makes it easier for warring factions around the world to use these weapons again, because it reduces the stigma.”
He added: “We have a very modern advanced defence system. We have purchased extremely advanced systems that can attack from land, the air and sea.”
Nato allies have pledged more than $21bn in miltary support to Ukraine in 2025, Rutte says
Nato allies have pledged $21.65bn (more than 20bn euros) in military support for Ukraine in the first three months of the year, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.
Foreign ministers from the alliance meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to discuss further support for Ukraine against Russia’s three-year-old invasion.
Macron: 'threats made against judges are absolutely unbearable and intolerable'
French President Emmanuel Macron has commented for the first time since Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement and barred from running in France’s next presidential election.
Opening a weekly meeting of French ministers, Macron addressed the court’s decision by recalling the three things government spokesperson Sophie Primas said.
They were “that the judiciary is independent”, “that the threats made against judges are absolutely unbearable and intolerable”, and that “the law is the same for everyone”, Politico reports.
Macron also stated that “all defendants have the right to legal recourse,” Primas said.
Hungary has deployed soldiers and launched new disinfection measures to help contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in a northwestern area bordering Slovakia and Austria, the agriculture minister said on Wednesday.
Hungary reported its first case in more than 50 years of the disease, which often leads to trade restrictions, on a cattle farm early last month, Reuters reports.
Since then, neighbouring Slovakia has detected outbreaks at five locations after reporting its first cases in March. It has also stepped up measures to contain the disease’s spread.
Hungarian agriculture minister Istvan Nagy said foot-and-mouth disease was found at two additional farms in Gyor-Moson-Sopron county by Wednesday morning, affecting 3,500 cattle.
Italy’s interior ministry has written to police forces across the country to increase security at Tesla dealerships after 17 of the electric cars made by Elon Musk’s company were destroyed in a fire in Rome.
Italy’s state police anti-terrorism unit, Digos, is investigating whether the fire at the Tesla dealership in Torre Angela, a suburb in the east of the capital, was started by anarchists.
Firefighters worked for hours to put out the blaze in the early hours of Monday. Drone images showed a row of the burnt-out remains of the vehicles in a parking area of the dealership. Using his social media platform, X, Musk referred to it as “terrorism”.
There are 13 Tesla dealerships in Italy, all managed by the parent company, the majority of them in Rome, but also in other cities including Florence and Milan.
An interior ministry source said the circular was aimed at “raising awareness” of possible anti-Tesla protesters amid a global wave of vandalism in response to Musk’s political activities in the US. If needed, surveillance of dealerships would be increased, it said.
French president Emmanuel Macron was convening key ministers and experts on Wednesday to discuss Iran, including its nuclear programme, amid growing tensions between Tehran and US President Donald Trump, three diplomatic sources told Reuters.
Such a cabinet meeting dedicated to a specific subject is rare and highlights mounting concern among Washington’s European allies that the United States and Israel could launch air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities unless there is a quick negotiated deal on its nuclear programme.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has reinforced US military capability in the Middle East with more warplanes, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, amid a US bombing campaign against the Houthis who control much of Yemen and are supported by Iran.
A senior European official said European strategists were asking themselves whether the campaign could be a precursor to a US strike on Iran in the coming months.
Three Spanish citizens and one Australian have been detained attempting to reach the Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Wednesday, citing a source.
The outsized role of the United States in the global economy means that economic policy moves there can influence economic decisions in Europe, European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel said on Wednesday in Paris.
Judge in Le Pen case given police protection after death threats
The judge who barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running in France’s 2027 presidential election is under police protection after facing death threats, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Benedicte de Perthuis - the head of a three-judge panel that found Le Pen guilty of embezzling EU funds and handed her a five-year ban on seeking public office - is now receiving police protection at work and at home.
De Perthuis also received threats on social media, with her photo plastered all over X and far-right sites.
Paris police confirmed an investigation was underway into the threats, referring further queries to the Paris prosecutor’s office, which did not respond.
Updated
Denmark’s prime minister is visiting Greenland on Wednesday for talks with the territory’s incoming government, following US President Donald Trump’s repeated expressions of interest in controlling the Arctic island, Reuters reports.
Mette Frederiksen begins her three-day trip less than a week after a visit to the territory by US vice-president JD Vance received a frosty reception from authorities in Denmark and Greenland.
Greenland’s incoming prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who won last month’s general election and will form a coalition government, has said he welcomes Frederiksen‘s trip, stating on Monday that Denmark remains “Greenland’s closest partner”.
Nielsen told Reuters on Monday that Greenland would strengthen its ties with Denmark until it could fulfil its ultimate wish to become a sovereign nation.
Meanwhile, Greenland wishes to establish a respectful relationship with the United States, he said.
“Talking about annexation and talking about acquiring Greenland and not respecting the sovereignty is not respectful, he said. “So let’s start by being respectful to each other and build up a great partnership on everything.”
The introduction of new US tariffs would hit Italian producers hard, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said in Rome on Wednesday, adding that every effort should be made to avoid a trade war, Reuters reports.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit Hungary today, defying an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
During the visit, which runs until Sunday, Netanyahu will meet his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán, who invited him in November, soon after the ICC issued the arrest warrant.
Orbán said at the time that the warrant would “not be observed”.
All European Union member states, including Hungary, are members of the ICC, which means they are required to enforce its warrants.
Orbán, a right-wing nationalist, has often been at odds with the EU over democratic standards and human rights in Hungary.
The Times of Israel reported a source as saying Netanyahu and Orbán will discuss potential Hungarian support for US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a visit to the US by President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, was “possible”, and that contacts with the US were continuing.
Reuters reported that Dmitriev is expected in Washington this week for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The French government expects President Trump’s tariffs to be in the range of between 20-25%, said government spokeswoman Sophie Primas on Wednesday.
“They risk being pretty powerful. People are speaking of tariffs between 20 and 25 percent,” Primas told reporters.
The European Union’s response to US President Donald Trump’s plan to impose sweeping new reciprocal tariffs on global trading partners later on Wednesday will happen at the appropriate moment, an EU spokesperson told journalists.
Trump's tariffs will be 'negative the world over', European Central Bank head says
President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs will be negative across the world, with the damage depending on how far they go, how long they last and whether they lead to successful negotiations, European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.
“It will be negative the world over and the density and the durability of the impact will vary depending on the scope, on the products targeted, on how long it lasts, on whether or not there are negotiations,” she said in an interview on Ireland’s Newstalk radio.
“Because let’s not forget quite often those escalation of tariffs, because they prove harmful, even for those who inflict it, lead to negotiation tables where people actually sit down and discuss and eventually remove some of those barriers.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that Ukraine had attacked Russian energy facilities twice during the past 24 hours, despite a US-brokered moratorium on energy strikes by both Russia and Ukraine, Reuters reports.
The Guardian could not verify the reported strikes.
Each side has accused the other of violating the moratorium.
More from President Zelenskyy.
He said that Russia was intentionally attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure and called on allies to mount pressure on Moscow to halt its invasion.
“Another round of deliberate strikes and damage to energy facilities - an FPV drone hit a substation in the Sumy region, and in Nikopol, Dnipro region, a power line was damaged by artillery fire,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Zelenskyy added:
This systematic and constant nature of Russian strikes clearly indicates that Moscow despises the diplomatic efforts of partners. Putin does not even want to ensure a partial ceasefire.
What’s needed is new and tangible pressure on Russia to put this war on a path toward ending.
We should not wait until April 11, when it will be a month since Russia said “no” to the American proposal for a ceasefire. Action must be taken as soon as possible. We are ready to work with all our partners in the US, Europe, and around the world in the most constructive way to achieve this much-needed result—a dignified and lasting peace.
Here are some images coming to us from Ukraine.
Russian attacks damaged energy facilities in Ukraine’s Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions, President Zelenskyy said on Wednesday.
A drone hit a substation in the northeastern Sumy region and artillery fire damaged a power line in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, cutting electricity to nearly 4,000 consumers, he said on X.
Ukraine and Russia have agreed with the United States on a pause in attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure, though both sides accuse the other of violating it. Moscow has so far refused a US call for a full ceasefire.
Italy fears fashion, pharmaceuticals and food industry likely to be hit hardest by tariffs
The effect of US tariffs on Italian companies will be massive – with fashion, pharmaceuticals and the food industry the hardest hit, the head of national industry lobby Confindustria said on Wednesday. He called for Europe to negotiate with Donald Trump to avoid further escalation and warned China would be the beneficiary.
“We will have to assess with great attention [the effects] of the tariffs that will be announced by Trump. There is a risk for Italy, our Research Centre is quantifying the impact, which will be massive,” Emanuele Orsini told daily La Stampa in an interview reported by Reuters.
Orsini said businesses with higher exports - such as the pharmaceutical sector, the fashion and food industries and production machinery - would be those most affected.
He also warned that should “Europe fuel its confrontation with the US, China would benefit from it” and hoped that the European Union would remain united in its approach to the US.
In response to tariffs, the business leader called for a cut in interest rates by the European Central Bank (ECB), new trade deals with countries including Mexico, India, Japan and Thailand and improving the European single market.
Orsini added that he hoped that Italian entrepreneurs would not start to consider relocating production outside of the country as a result of the new tariffs.
UK imposes online entry permit on European visitors
European visitors to the UK will need a new online entry permit from Wednesday as the British government shakes up longstanding travel rules.
Travellers from Europe will now need a digital Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) permit, which UK officials said they were rolling out to boost security and streamline entry processes. There will be a buffer period which could last several months, AFP reports.
The permit can be bought online in the next few days for €12 (£10) (12 euros), but the price is rising from 9 April to €19 (£16).
The ETA has already been introduced for American, Canadian and other visa-exempt nationals visiting the UK, which left the European Union in 2020.
The head of the UK’s border force Phil Douglas said the latest rollout was part of a wider plan to bring in the ETA for visitors from around the world. “This scheme is essentially a border security measure,” he said, adding that he did not expect Wednesday’s launch to cause disruption.
The permit allows visits of up to six months. It is digitally linked to the applicant’s passport and is valid for two years.
The application, which can be made on a smartphone app or through the government website, has been open to Europeans since the start of March. It applies to nationals of some 30 European countries, including all those in the European Union except Ireland.
The applicant will need to provide a photo of their passport and their face. The process takes around 10 minutes, according to the UK’s Home Office.
In most cases, an application decision is made within minutes but the government recommends allowing up to three working days.
It will be required for babies and children, but flight passengers transiting without crossing the UK border are exempt from the scheme after pressure from Heathrow which feared a loss of passenger footfall connecting through Europe’s busiest airport.
It is not applicable to UK residents or anyone who already has a UK immigration status.
Europe scrambles for unified response as it braces for Trump tariffs
Europe is braced for US president Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs on global trading partners on Wednesday, threatening cost increases and likely drawing retaliation from all sides.
Details of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff plans are due to be announced in the White House Rose Garden at 4 pm Eastern Time (10pm CET, 9pm BST).
France’s industry minister Marc Ferracci says Europe will respond to the likely implementation of tariffs in a proportionate manner but will not escalate tensions under any circumstances.
“Europe has always been on the side of negotiation and calming things down, because trade wars, you know, only produce losers,” Ferracci told RMC radio.
The new duties are due to take effect immediately after Trump announces them, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday, while a separate 25% global tariff on auto imports will take effect on 3 April.
Trump says his reciprocal tariff plans are a move to equalise generally lower US tariff rates with those charged by other countries and counteract their non-tariff barriers that disadvantage US exports. But the format of the duties was unclear amid reports that Trump was considering a 20% universal tariff.
On Monday, however, the Bank of Finland governor Olli Rehn, one of the European Central Bank’s top policymakers told Politico that the European Union should prepare “proportionate countermeasures” and retaliate against Trump’s measures.
His comments echoed those of European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde who said the moment represented a unique opportunity for Europe, and that it should not “lie down”.
“I consider it a moment when we can decide together to take our destiny into our own hands, and I think it is a march to independence,” she said.
The European Commission has indicated it will prepare a response to the measures within two weeks.
European shares are drifting lower ahead of the US tariff announcement this evening.
In London, the FTSE 100 index has lost 20 points, or 0.2%, to 8,614. Stock markets in Germany, France and Italy have fallen by around 0.5%. Julia Kollewe has the latest business reaction here.
As ever, we’ll be bringing you the biggest news across Europe, including on tariffs, Marine Le Pen, Ukraine and more.
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